1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packaging. More specifically, the invention relates to a multi-sided container or box made of corrugated paperboard. In particular, the invention relates to a corrugated paperboard tray for containing poultry products, wherein the tray has means for temporarily holding in place the open end of a bag placed in the container while product is placed in the bag.
2. Prior Art
Various styles of containers, including paperboard boxes, are known in the prior art for containing a variety of products. Cut poultry pieces, for example, are normally packed in ice in a paperboard container. These containers are generally referred to as poultry trays, and are usually made from a unitary blank of corrugated paperboard, which may be treated on one or both sides with wax or other material to impart rigidity and resistance to water degradation. Conventional containers may have four sides and be square or rectangular in plan view, or they may have eight sides, with opposed pairs of parallel side and end walls and diagonal corner panels connecting adjacent side and end walls. An example of a prior art eight sided poultry tray is disclosed in applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,648.
In many instances a flexible bag is placed in the container with the open top of the bag exposed through the open top of the container, and the product is placed in the bag through its open top, which is then closed over the product. After the bag is closed over the product, a cover is typically placed on the container.
In conventional systems the open top of the bag is folded outwardly over the open top of the container, and the product is placed in the bag. However, the weight and/or friction of the product acting on the bag sometimes causes the open top of the bag to drop into the box, or at least some of the bag to be displaced into the container, with the result that not all of the product is confined within the bag and/or it may be difficult to close the open top of the bag over the product after the container is filled.
Accordingly, there is need for a container that has means for at least temporarily holding a bag in position in the container while product is introduced into the bag.
The container of the invention has means associated with it to at least temporarily hold a bag in place in the container while product is placed in the bag.
More specifically, in accordance with the invention means is provided on an exterior surface of the container which cooperates with the open top end of a bag placed in the container to hold the bag in position while product is placed in the bag.
In particular, the container of the invention has at least one mitered corner and an adjacent wall of the container extends at one edge past the mitered corner. Bag cuff grab means is formed on the extended edge to grab and hold in place the open top of the bag while product is placed in it. The invention may be applied to a container having any number of mitered corners, although in the embodiments illustrated and described herein, it is applied to containers having six, seven or eight sides, with two, three or four mitered corners, respectively. A bag cuff grab means may be formed at only one mitered corner, or diagonally opposed corners, or any number of them, as desired or necessary.
The bag cuff grab means can comprise any suitable means, but in the embodiments illustrated and described herein, it comprises a notch formed in the edge of the extended wall panel. The open top edge of the bag is folded or rolled outwardly and then downwardly over the open top edge of the container and engaged in the notch, which then functions to hold the bag in place while it is being filled. Preferably, the open top end of the bag is rolled to form a cuff, and the cuff is engaged in the notch, which functions as a cuff grab.
The invention is a simple, economical and effective way to at least temporarily hold the open top end of a bag in position in a container while product is placed in the bag. It adds no cost to the container.